Presencing Connection: Life Writing and Personal Development

Abstract

"The global present has been diagnosed as a disruptive moment of disconnection. In this essay, I stage an interdisciplinary encounter between the self-reflexive genre of life writing on the one hand, and recent theories of personal development and leadership in order to compare recent approaches to the present as a moment of transformation. In order to overcome present disruptions, it is necessary to acknowledge past patterns of relating to the social and natural environment, but also to go beyond self- and systems awareness and develop innovative ways of connecting that complement a cognitive understanding of crisis with affective and embodied practices. By bringing together life writings and leadership theories, I introduce a range of current ways of envisioning connection and sketch how they may contribute to making more sustainable relational imaginaries and practices accessible to a wider public."